My Son Is Gifted, What Do I Do?

Perhaps you have been a gifted child, or perhaps it is your child who is. Some think it is something worth mentioning, something that endows our son with great intellectual capacity and that he does better than others. But is it really so? We know little about giftedness and when we come across it we sometimes don’t know how to act. Well, the reality is going to be very different from what we thought.

Today we will discover more about this condition and how parents should act about it. It is difficult to deal with our son if he is gifted, but not impossible. We reveal some questions to understand it.

My son is gifted

What does it mean for my child to be gifted? In principle, we are all clear that they are children who have a much more developed and high capacity than others. Without wanting to, they stand out and the other children begin to see him as the “brainiac” of the class. But, maybe he’s just smart. It has nothing to do with getting very good grades with being gifted. What characteristics, then, do gifted children have?

• They are very precocious children : they walk, speak and read earlier than usual.
• They have a very sharp memory.
• They are very curious children, they need to continually know the why of everything.
• Issues such as death, life, the existence of God, etc. are questioned.

• They have a high capacity for concentration.
• They are very mature, they prefer to talk to adults.
• They tend to reason everything.

These are just some of the characteristics that gifted children have. They do not usually interact with children their age because they are bored. They seek intelligence, conversations that can satisfy their curiosity. Gifted children are true early geniuses who need more. They learn very quickly and each time they want to know more and more. But do they have something negative?

Although everything may seem positive, the truth is that it is not. Gifted children are very conflictive at times because they get bored easily. This causes them to be restless, they can refuse to carry out the activities that are proposed in class and they can even get bad grades. Only because they are not comfortable and the classes do not meet their expectations.

As parents, what can we do?

The first to notice this quality in your child will be the teachers. When this happens or if you doubt yourself if he can be a gifted child, the important thing is to consult an expert. What can we do? How to help you? Parents, of course, have a primary role in this case. On a daily basis, they should encourage their child’s daily work and show interest in what catches his or her attention.

The more things you do, the more you satisfy your thirst for knowledge, the better. You have to prevent them from getting bored, encourage their motivation. But, this can sometimes be very exhausting for parents who may even think they are not smart enough to help their children with all this. Of course, this is something we must get out of our heads.

Gifted children are very fragile. Just as they have a great ability to learn quickly, they are also capable of falling into frustration and depression. Support your child in everything and, if possible, find an educational program that helps his intellectual needs. Fortunately, today there are specialists in schools and institutes for children with certain special needs.

Find the center that can help your child develop his skills and prevent him from getting bored in class or frustrated. Look at his preferences and the fields that may attract him the most, such as music, art, science, etc.

Do you have a gifted child? Whether you are a parent, a teacher or have been in contact with a gifted child, tell us about your experience.

Sometimes it is difficult to know how difficult it can be to deal with these children’s thirst for knowledge. But if we take into account all the above and, also, if we seek help, our child will grow up being happy.  While taking advantage of all that intellectual capacity you have.

Images courtesy of Nancy Schwickrath, Kathy Hare, Julie Dillon